Falla Defeats Spadea, then Falls to Bogomolov at Dellwood

Starting things off Thursday on the main court at the Kennedy Funding Invitational at Dellwood Country Club in New City were  Columbia's Alejandro Falla and the United States' Vince Spadea, who played an intensely competitive match for a spot in the men's semifinals.

Spadea took the lead early on in the first set, two games to love against Falla.  Spadea remained largely in control these first two games, hitting the ball hard and placing it well on the court to keep Falla running after shots.  Falla turned it around to win the next three games however, as he adjusted his game by keeping Spadea on the move.

Spadea was not about to go out easily, however, and he took the next game, winning four volleys to none.  Falla retaliated on his service, double faulting and then winning the next four volleys to even the set, 4-4.  Spadea then won the next game, as he followed up an ace with a big serve that Falla touched but couldn't return.  Falla then won the set 6-4 after evening it up and then breaking Spadea, who double faulted to hand Falla the win.

The second set began neck and neck as first Falla won two and then Spadea won two.  Both then kept their serve to win two games a piece, leaving the set tied at 3-3.  Falla then pulled away to win the next three games, the set, and the match.  After the match, Falla was pleased with his performance, as he had executed his intended strategy effectively.

"I knew I had to be solid from the baseline and keep him on the run because he hits so hard from standing," said Falla, "so I just focused on returning his shots and my game from the baseline."  In looking toward the semifinals, Falla was awaiting the winner of the Somdev Devvarman verse Alex Bogomolov match.  "Both are gonna be tough," said Falla, "I'm just focusing on my game.  I am confident in my game and I'm going to focus on that to win the match."

Falla did just that in a hard-fought semifinals match Friday. He played Bogomolov, who defeated Devvarman, 6-2, 7-5.  Though Falla played a solid game, Bogomolov made him earn every point.  Running from corner to corner, Falla seemed to get tired later on, as he had difficulty getting back into position for some shots and was forced to let them past without any attempt at recovering. 

This is not to say that Falla didn't make Bogomolov work for every point, however he was sent running too much as Falla remained on the defensive against the well-placed shots from his opponent.  By sending him side to side, Bogomolov had many opportunities to attack the net and hit shots on Falla when he was out of position from a tough return.  This relentless aggressiveness and well-timed ball placement allowed Bogomolov to win the match.

The two players held their serves through the first four games, leaving them tied 2-2.  Bogomolov then broke Falla in five short volleys to take the lead.  Bogomolov continued the run to win the next three games in a row.  Though he won nearly every volley of those next games, each one was long and well-played by both.  Unfortunately Falla made some unforced errors as Bogomolov kept him running, tiring Falla and forcing him to make some tough returns, many of which fell wide or into the net.  By the end, Bogomolov took the set 6-2.

Bogomolov continued the attack on a tired Falla in the next set.  Despite some great returns, the placement of Falla's shots were off just enough to either go wide or allow Bogomolov a solid return or slam on attempted lobs over him.  Bogomolov seemed better able to handle the continued running, though he had not needed to run as excessively as Falla by keeping on the offensive.

Bogomolov took the first four sets of the second set in this manner, before Falla was able to hold his serve in the fifth game with some excellently placed and hard-hit serves.  Bogomolov then took his fifth game as he held his serve and finished off the game with an ace followed by an excellent drop-shot winner.  Falla came back in the next two sets, as he held his serve in a series of long volleys and well-placed game winners.  He then broke Bogomolov in six volleys, with many hard-hit returns.

Falla had some difficulties in the ninth game of the set, and Bogomolov held his own to win it, the set, and the match 6-3.  Bogomolov had executed his strategy effectively to remain largely in control throughout the match.  "I wanted to keep the ball in play since I know clay is not his favorite surface," said Bogomolov, "so I tried to keep it in play and be aggressive on the short ball."

In looking ahead to the finals match, Bogomolov was excited for a fun and competitive match.  "I'd like to play Goldstein," said Bogomolov, "Mike too, but Goldy and I have had some competitive matches in the past."

The finals match happens today at 5 p.m. if the weather holds out.  Bogomolov will face Russell in what is sure to be a thrilling competition.